OK so my M$ spyware expired, log on and then I have to go through this torturous procedure to validate my XP, no problem it's legal, and I eventually download it. Now my other desktop & laptop are also legal & I cannot be bothered to repeat this procedure twice more, so obvious question, will the new downloaded version also run on my two other machines? If the answer is no, then this M$ product is going in the bin. Bob Mitchell. "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." - Kenneth Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

from what i can gather it will work but only on XP machines D4Dog "beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder"

Probably but the important thing is, what happens when it tries to update? I have a suspicion the "verified" one will but the other's might not, anyone know or have tried this yet? Bob Mitchell. "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." - Kenneth Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

It will work on XP and 2000 machines. If you download it on one machine you can then use the same install file to set it up on the other machines. Validation only occurs with downloads, not with the updates. "I know that I'm mad - I've always been mad..."

Thanks for that Johnr I'll load it onto my other machines & let you know. I just wondered whether M$ had put some sort of checksum on the file so it would only work on the identical hardware. Rgds. Bob Mitchell. "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." - Kenneth Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

Yes, you are correct. I copied the MS Beta file to my legal laptop, installed and ran update with no problems. Rgds. Bob Mitchell. "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." - Kenneth Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.